National Geographic Society
P.O. Box 98199
Washington, DC 20090-8199
800-647-5463
Lat/Lon: 38.90531943278526, -77.0376992225647
Inspiring people to care about the planet since 1888
RSS Syndication
In the matriarchal world of elephants, males are known as mostly independent sorts. Females maintain close, lifelong family ties, while bulls tend to wander off solo, at times banding with another male or more loosely with groups of them.
Or do they? During a six-year study in Namibia’s Etosha National Park, Stanford University behavioral ecologist Caitlin O’Connell-Rodwell observed for the first time intense, long-lasting bonds among a dozen or so bulls—a tight-knit group of teenagers, adults, and seniors up to 55 she’s dubbed the Boys’ Club. Older males serve as mentors and mediators for younger ones, enforcing a strict social hierarchy and keeping underlings in line when hormones rage and rowdiness may erupt.
In drought-prone Namibia, rank becomes most rigid when water is scarcest. “In dry years the strict pecking order they establish benefits all of them,” O’Connell-Rodwell says. “Everyone knows their place.” That means young bulls supplicate more frequently to their elders—and peace is maintained while everyone gets to drink. —Hannah Bloch
Learn more about wildlife on the new Nat Geo Wild network. Visit http://natgeowild.com.
Subscribe to RSS feed
Ancestry.com
Buy NG Photos
Special Issues
Comments
Jun 16, 2010 12PM #
It seems that elephants have a capacity for emotion as huge as their massive body's. Years ago I saw a documentary at an I-Max theatre never suspecting that I would end up in tears a number of times throughout the movie. I did not bring a kleenex. Fortunately I at least had on long sleeves...
Jun 16, 2010 12PM #
Interesting post. I have read that male lions also remain together, mainly siblings, to manage the pride
Post a Comment